ADVENTURE + ALIVENESS Page 10 of 13

The Do What You Love e-course… back by popular demand!

Posted on 2012-03-21 at 9:00 am.

For the past couple of months I have received a lot of emails asking when the Do What You Love e-course is running again, as it has been tucked away quietly since the last run of it back in November.

Picture of me by Tiffany Kirchner-Dixon

It is all about adventure, identifying your passion and making that a bigger part of your every day life. But for the past few months I feel like I have been padlocked to my desk getting lots of other things out into the world.

It would have felt wrong to run the course when I was holed up in my attic office, but now Spring is on its way, I have a plane ticket it my hand and I am about to head off on my own big adventure to Japan. It feels like the right time to run it again. Won’t you join us?

The Do What You Love adventure will begin on May 14, and for the first time ever will be brought to you from the Far East! It is going to be very special indeed… find out more below or register here (there’s a discount if you sign up by the end of March!)

This online adventure will take you step-by-step on a path to discovering your true passion, and finding a way to make it a greater part of your everyday life.

In six weeks you will expand your comfort zone, nurture your playful spirit and use this to feed your creative soul.

You will travel this path with a community of like-minded people from across the world, sharing your stories, forging new connections, and inspiring each other.

This will be like no other class you have ever taken. Can you afford not to join us? Find out more and register here.

This used to be my studio…

Posted on 2012-03-13 at 1:59 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

100 boxes and bags in storage, empty rooms, suitcases ready, and a huge to-do list still staring at me, but slowly, slowly, it is starting to feel like we are actually going on this big adventure…

It’s like I don’t have time to get emotional about moving but I am sure it will hit me when I eventually slow down in a couple of weeks’ time and stop to sip green tea under a cherry tree somewhere, gentle blossoms falling all around me… ahh can’t wait (although I actually can as I have far too much to do in the coming days…)

Please forgive me if the blog feels a little empty, like my studio, over the next couple of weeks. I promise it will be worth the wait once I have found a new temporary home somewhere in the Far East and I can get back into sharing photos and telling stories of far-away adventures!

Paris story

Posted on 2012-02-28 at 9:28 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Stole away from my desk for a little trip to Paris a week ago, visiting my first ever trade show and trying out my new camera. It was just what I needed, even though it was for ‘work’. I also had the most wonderful crazy serdipitous happening occur, but more about that another day.

All this week I am going to share some photo stories of my wanderings. Forgive me for my lack of words this week – running, running, running – and anyway, Paris doesn’t need words…

More Paris posts here: Parisian markets / Paris story / Les papeteries / Parisian cafes / Paris details / Window shopping in Paris

I was in Paris researching The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design – join us for the next course starting in April!

Adventure planning

Posted on 2012-01-22 at 12:41 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

These days, in the quiet moments between the rushes of work, my mind drifts to the Orient, and to the adventures that are to come this year. Over the weekend we spent several happy hours shuffling through journalled lists of places we want to explore, things we want to do. Mostly we are just going to wait and see, but there is a delicious anticipation in the planning, and I am savouring that for now.

Flying the nest… we’re moving to Japan!

Posted on 2011-09-09 at 10:43 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

I am a wanderer at heart, but I am also Taurean through and through – which means I like to surround myself with beautiful things, and create a secure home. This internal contradiction often pulls me in different directions, and right now has manifested itself as a very exciting decision… we are moving to Japan from next March for 8-9 months!

Image: Cover of ‘Kodansha Bilingual Encyclopedia of Japan’

Last Summer we bought our lovely house, and have been so happy here, but in the past few months my man and I have started to get itchy feet. I have long had a deep love of Japan, having lived in Kyoto for a year as a 19-year old student, and then in the snowy north, and in Tokyo for four more years in my twenties. My man spent several years of his childhood in Hong Kong, but has never been to Japan, so we decided that now is as good a time as any!

To me Japan is a magical place, a breathtakingly beautiful place, and a place where anything seems possible. It has also been home to some of my craziest, funniest adventures, and most deeply thought-provoking experiences. I have found myself dreaming of Kyoto quite often recently, and have long harboured a secret wish to spend several months just wandering – taking photos, writing, exploring, catching up with old friends, doing a class or two in indigo dyeing, papermaking or pottery perhaps… And my man wants to learn the language which has captivated me. So he is taking a sabbatical, and will study in the mornings, then spend the rest of the time exploring. And as for me – I have no plan whatsoever!

I have a feeling this is going to be a very precious time, and I want to soak in every inch of it. And I cannot wait to share it all with you!

PS. For this reason I have decided not to run a Do What You Love retreat in England next year. The next one will be in 2013 – I hope you can wait that long! (And maybe, just maybe, I’ll organise one in Japan, if anyone would be interested??)

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Did you hear the news? The Art and Business of Surface Pattern featuring Rachael Taylor launched yesterday! You will LOVE it – take a look over here!

Roadtrip #9: Strange times in the Catskills

Posted on 2011-09-06 at 3:07 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

I don’t really know what to say about the Catskills. Up in the mountains the views are amazing, and I can imagine it is a fantastic place to ski in winter. But we had a bizarre experience there and surprised ourselves by not staying very long.

It was the height of the tourist season and the weekend of the crazy Warrior Dash (where people do fun things like fire jumping, pond swimming and mud crawling – so the place was full of people caked in crusty mud!) and nearly every room in the town of Windham was taken. The only room we could find at short notice was in a B&B which we joked looked like something out of a horror film from the photos on its website. When we got there, it was just as weird as we had joked it might be! It was isolated, gloomy and imposing, hidden at the edge of dark woods. We had the worst night’s sleep ever and got up aching all over at about 5am to be greeted by a wild storm. You know how a bad situation can actually send you into a fit of laughter? That’s what we were like as we wondered whether we were only saved from the scary B&B’s resident mad axeman because he also couldn’t move after such a bad night’s sleep…

We had come to Windham to go mountain biking and do some fun stuff on the river, but it was nearly impossible in all the wind and rain so we did something we weren’t expecting to – we left! But not until we had picked up breakfast from a fab cafe, with exposed concrete behind the counter and cool art on the exposed brick walls…

And as we were leaving things got even more strange when we saw this truck driving down the road carrying a house – you would never see that in England!

A couple of weeks later Windham was hit by the edges of Hurricane Irene and the whole place flooded. I hope it recovers in time for the winter season, as I expect it is quite a magical skiing destination at that time of year.

More roadtrip posts here: #1 For the love of travel; #2 Sharks and jellyfish; #3 Boston and Harvard; #4 A fairytale wedding; #5 On top of the world; #6 To Canada, in search of stationery; #7 Japanese paper and pattern inspiration; #8 Niagara Falls

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“Life-changing”, “Revolutionary”, “Awe-inspiring”, “Transformative“ – just a few of the ways former participants have described the Do What You Love e-course.

Do you fancy some of that in your life? Do you want to get closer to identifying your true passion and finding a way to do what you love, for life? Then this is for you!

The Do What You Love e-course is open for registration now and places are limited so book now to secure your place. This is the last time it will run this year.

This is your chance to join a global tribe of like-minded people who will support and encourage you to find your way.

It could be the most influential six weeks of your life… Join now!

Roadtrip #8: Niagara Falls

Posted on 2011-09-03 at 1:38 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

As one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Niagara Falls is indeed stunning, but I was shocked to see how it has been completely ruined by the ugliness of the city built around it to capitalise on the visiting tourists. Concrete everywhere, huge casinos and hotels and very little else. I had heard a whisper that it was like that, but wasn’t really expecting that people could actually build in such an unsympathetic way next to somewhere so naturally beautiful.

On my travels I have had the good fortune to see the Iguacu Falls in Brazil/Argentina, and the Victoria Falls in Zambia (where I took a helicopter ride over it to see how the falls are really just a huge gash in the landscape – breathtaking). In both cases visitor numbers are high but the locals have realised the value of the natural wonder they have been blessed with and have sensitively preserved it. What a pity the same hasn’t been done at Niagara.

Mother Nature triumphed in the end though – as we were leaving (and as most of the other visitors were arriving), a beautiful rainbow appeared and stretched up into the sky right in front of our eyes. Magic.

***

“Life-changing”, “Revolutionary”, “Awe-inspiring”, “Transformative“ – just a few of the ways former participants have described the Do What You Love e-course.

Do you fancy some of that in your life? Do you want to get closer to identifying your true passion and finding a way to do what you love, for life? Then this is for you!

The Do What You Love e-course is open for registration now and places are limited so book now to secure your place. This is the last time it will run this year.

This is your chance to join a global tribe of like-minded people who will support and encourage you to find your way.

It could be the most influential six weeks of your life…

Join now!

Roadtrip #5: On top of the world

Posted on 2011-08-31 at 8:28 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

I wouldn’t go so far as to say I am afraid of heights, but I am definitely not a huge fan. But so much fun stuff happens high up, that I just had to go for it in, zip lining across the forest canopy 150 feet up and 800 feet across the mountainside, walking sky bridges and whooshing down ropes from the tops of trees.

With bungee jumping or rope swinging it’s always the jumping off bit that gets me. But this was too good to miss, and the view from the top was incredible. I probably made a few squirrels jump with my initial screams – which turned to whoops of adrenaline-fuelled joy by the end!

You should see the video footage…

We soaked up the great outdoors in the White Mountains, mountain biking for miles through forest trails, and doing stomach flips at a huge waterpark.

We had rain, we had wind, we had sun. And after all that exercise, we had a lot of food!

We stayed at this wonderful B&B in Bethlehem, which was built as a family home at the turn of the last Century. Marilyn Monroe used to spend her summers there, and Cary Grant had his honeymoon in the room next door to ours.

Lovely innkeeper Mary welcomed us with freshly baked cookies, beer in the fridge and an endless supply of delicious coffee which we drank sat on rocking chairs in the wraparound porch. We played croquet in her beautiful garden, and felt quite at home in this tiny part of New Hampshire.

***

Other roadtrip posts: #1 For the love of travel; #2 Sharks and jellyfish; #3 Boston and Harvard; #4 A fairytale wedding; #6 To Canada, in search of stationery

***

“Life-changing”, “Revolutionary”, “Awe-inspiring”, “Transformative“ – just a few of the ways former participants have described the Do What You Love e-course.

Do you fancy some of that in your life? Do you want to get closer to identifying your true passion and finding a way to do what you love, for life? Then this is for you!

The Do What You Love e-course is open for registration now. The adventure begins on September 26 but places are limited so book now to secure your place. This is the last time it will run this year.

This is your chance to join a global tribe of like-minded people who will support and encourage you to find your way.

It could be the most influential six weeks of your life… Join now!

One month to go…

Posted on 2011-08-26 at 12:10 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

(handmade book by Rachel Hazell)

… until the Do What You Love e-course kicks off for the last time this year.

In the words of previous participants, this is not just another e-course that you take. It is an e-course that you live, and which continues to live in you beyond the classroom. They have described it as “revolutionary“, “awe-inspiring”, “life-changing” and “transformational“.

As a direct result of taking the course, former participants have started new companies, exhibited artwork for the first time, launched blogs, quit jobs, mended relationships, started writing books, created their own e-courses, started painting, gone travelling, and all sorts of other adventures.

Of those responding to a survey about the course…

– 100% said it had impacted their life and they are making changes as a result

– 95% said they now know what they need to do in order to do what they love, for life

– Participants said they felt more brave, more inspired, more curious, more positive and more confident. They found themselves more focused, they had new ideas, wanted to try new things, and realised that they were more creative than they thought they were. They had found support and friendship in the global community on the course. And perhaps most importantly, they had a stronger belief in themselves and what they are capable of.

When asked how they would describe the course to a friend they said:

“A unique, creative, inspiring yet practical approach to discovering and doing what you love.”

“If you want to change your life and feel better about who you are – happier, more creative, able to tell people how you feel and live with more passion, then this is the class for you.”

So what are you waiting for?

The final session of 2011 begins a month today. Participants have already signed up from FIVE different continents.

This is a unique opportunity to share an exciting journey of change with people from all over the world. Register now!

Roadtrip #3: Boston & Harvard

Posted on 2011-08-26 at 9:34 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

I normally steer clear of tours, but I couldn’t resist the tour around in Cambridge. Led by a current student, we were given a glimpse into life at one of the world’s most famous colleges.

It is a beautiful campus which undoubtedly inspires academic curiosity. It was fascinating to hear stories of former students – Al Gore, Matt Damon, Mark Zuckerberg and others – and to be treated to stories about the traditions and superstitions.

While we were there a reunion picnic was going on. The average age of participants was over 70, and I only just resisted eacesdropping on their conversations – imagine the lives and experiences of the gathered group of nonegenerians! There is something very special about places like Harvard, which make you want to keep on learning.

We only had a couple of days in Boston at the beginning of the trip.

Unsurprisingly we were drawn to the harbour, and sat happily listening to the tinkling of the yacht masts and the calls of seagulls.

The weather was glorious so we headed out into the Bay in search of whales.

We didn’t find any, but it was peaceful out on the water, and some welcome respite from the steaming concrete.

It was lovely to meet up with Jess Greene of Seek Your Course for an afternoon. We sat at a cafe on Newbury Street, watching the world go by and eating the largest pizza I have ever seen!

The man and I returned to Boston at the end of the trip and explored further – more on that later!

Next stop Concord… for a wedding!

***

“Life-changing”, “Revolutionary”, “Awe-inspiring”, “Transformative“ – just a few of the ways former participants have described the Do What You Love e-course.

Do you fancy some of that in your life? Do you want to get closer to identifying your true passion and finding a way to do what you love, for life? Then this is for you!

The Do What You Love e-course is open for registration now. This is your chance to join a global tribe of like-minded people who will support and encourage you to find your way.

It could be the most influential six weeks of your life… Join now!